Unity Day (Zambia)
Unity Day is an annual public holiday celebrated in Zambia, occurring on the Tuesday following Heroes Day, which is observed on the first Monday in July. This holiday serves as a recognition of the diverse ethnic groups within Zambia, united under the national motto "One Zambia, One Nation." The celebration aims to promote national unity and peaceful cooperation as the country navigates challenges stemming from its postcolonial history.
Zambia, a landlocked nation with a population of approximately 10 million, has a rich cultural tapestry shaped by various ethnic groups, predominantly of Bantu origin. The country’s journey towards unity is rooted in a shared struggle against colonial oppression, particularly during the miner strikes of the early to mid-20th century, which fostered a collective identity among different tribes.
Unity Day reflects on Zambia's path to independence, achieved in 1964, and serves as a reminder of the importance of cohesion among its people in the face of ongoing socio-economic issues. The day encourages Zambians to celebrate their shared heritage while also reinforcing their commitment to building a harmonious future together.
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Unity Day (Zambia)
Unity Day (Zambia)
This is a movable event.
Unity Day is an annual public holiday in the South African nation of Zambia. It is held on the Tuesday after Heroes Day, another public holiday, which is held annually on the first Monday in July. In 2001, the year used to determine the dates of movable events in this book, Unity Day fell on July 3.
Zambia is a landlocked nation of approximately 10 million people. Its capital and largest city is Lusaka, with a population of roughly 1.3 million. A wide variety of different ethnic groups inhabit the country, though many share a common origin in the Bantu tribe. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to colonize the region and used many of the natives for slave labor. In addition to the Portuguese, the Zambians were invaded by the Swahili, the Dutch, and finally the British, who colonized the region in the late 19th century.
A number of clans or kingdoms formed in the area, including the Bemba, Lunda, Kololo, and Chewa. These diverse groups were ultimately united by a nationalist spirit that arose upon the discovery of copper reserves in the 1920s and 1930s and the establishment of cooperative mining companies by the British and Americans. The miners consisted of native Zambians, who developed a common interest that transcended their tribal affiliations. These workers united to protest the institutional racism that prevented blacks from ascending the ranks at the mines, and they went on strike several times during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s to gain fair taxation and to earn better wages. The latter work stoppage was particularly successful, with Africans granted the chance to move into managerial positions in 1955. Nationalist feelings grew in the 1950s, when the British joined Zambia—then known as Northern Rhodesia—with Nyasaland (present-day Malawi) and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) into a federation in order to siphon profits from Zambia's copper mines to bolster the economy of Southern Rhodesia. Protests against the federation evolved into an independence movement that saw the formation of the ill-fated Zambia African National Congress and the more successful United National Independence Party (1958), led by Kenneth David Kaunda. By 1960 the British began to recognize the fact that the days of colonial rule in Africa were numbered, and by 1963 the federation was dissolved. In January 1964 Zambia held its first election for prime minister, won by Kaunda. Full independence was granted at midnight on October 24 of that year, at which time Kaunda became the nation's first president.
Unity Day celebrates the unity of the new nation's many different peoples—epitomized in the motto “One Zambia, One Nation”—and seeks to encourage peaceful cooperation as the nation struggles to overcome many problems in the postcolonial era.